Ahmed canvasses reform of local councils for economic viability

•Governor: influx of people into Ilorin putting pressure on water facility

Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has canvassed the need to reform the country’s local government areas.

He emphasised that economic viability and not autonomy should be the focus of such reform, if the councils must meet up with their responsibilities.

Ahmed called for adequate funding of local governments.

The governor spoke in Ilorin, the state capital, at the weekend while interacting with reporters as part of activities marking the state’s Golden Jubilee anniversary.

He said adequate fiscal allocation to the third tier of government remains the only viable solution to the myriad of problems plaguing the councils, especially payment of salaries and pensions.

Ahmed, who clarified that the state government is not owning its workers, said the feat was made possible by windows of opportunities that were open to the state in revenue generation drive.

Lamenting the plight of local government workers and pensioners in the state over varied degree of salary arrears they were being owed, Ahmed blamed the situation on the persisting dwindling allocation from the federation account to both the states and local government areas across the country.

“At the state level, we are able to pay workers’ salaries as and when due because of other sources of revenue generation that are opened to us. But unfortunately the local government do not have such privileges because of the way and manner of their establishment,” he added.

On the problem of water supply in Ilorin, the governorsaid provision of potable water in parts of the state had remained a problem because of increasing population.

He noted that the influx of people from different part of the country to Ilorin because of its peaceful environment had put pressure on water facility.

The governor, who described the state as a gateway between the Southwest and the North, said the prevailing peaceful and harmonious atmosphere in the state had made it conducive for people to settle away from trouble prone areas of the country.